Prince of Persia (2008)
Prince of Persia is an action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. It was intended to be the reboot of the franchise. It was released in 2008 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows. It was released for the Mac OS X in 2009. Plot The Prince is lost within a desert sandstorm searching for his donkey, which is loaded with gold. He soon falls off a cliff and finds Elika, princess of the Ahura, who is fleeing from soldiers. As the Prince follows her, the soldiers believe him to be working with her and attempt to destroy a bridge before he can pass it. As the bridge breaks with the Prince on it, Elika saves him with the use of magical powers. As Prince accompanies Elika to a temple that holds the Tree of Life, a tree that holds the evil god, Ahriman. Once inside, the Prince learns that the soldiers served under Elika's father. After Elika and the Prince battle the king of the Ahura, the king cuts the Tree of Life releases Ahriman. As the Prince and Elika escape from the temple that is beginning to crumble, they learn that world outside is becoming corrupted by the powers of Ahriman. Elika explains that her powers must have been given to her from Ormazd, the good god and Ahriman's brother, who left the land after giving the Ahura, deities with powers of light, their powers. Elika explains to the Prince that in order to hold Ahriman in his prison, they need to heal the Fertile Grounds, plates that have the power to reverse the effects of Ahriman's reign, of the kingdom. They begin healing the corrupted lands and battling the four corrupted leaders of Ahriman: the Hunter, the Concubine, the Warrior and the Alchemist, who are collectively known as the Corrupted. Each of the Corrupted had sold their souls for their own separate reasons. The Hunter used to be a young prince who asked Ahriman for the best prize to hunt for. The Concubine had been a beautiful woman that became jealous when ignored asked Ahriman for the powers of illusion. The Warrior was a king who asked Ahriman for the power to defeat his enemies when Ormazd hadn't heard his plea. The Alchemist was an alchemist who had almost devised a way to live longer, but was near the end of his life. When he had asked Ormazd for more time and was refused, he turned to Ahriman to ask for time. As they journey, the Prince and Elika soon find out that she had died prior to the Prince's coming into the kingdom of the Ahura. Elika's father had brought her to Ahriman, so requested she be revived with light. As the king had sold his soul in order to revive Elika, he had become another one of the corrupted soldiers of Ahriman. After healing all the lands and defeating the Corrupted, Elika and the Prince return to the temple to imprison Ahriman for a final time, however, the king, now a completely corrupted being, battles the duo. Once they defeat him, he throws himself into Ahriman, giving him the strength to resurrect Ahriman. As the Prince and Elika attempt to battle Ahriman, Elika uses all her powers to imprison him back into the Tree of Life, but sacrifices her own life to do so. The Prince takes Elika's body out of the temple and finds four Trees of Life outside of the temple. As he cuts each tree, the land becomes corrupted again and he releases Ahriman again when he cuts the Tree of Life inside the temple, in order to revive Elika. As the corruption is being spread, the Prince carries Elika across the desert. In the downloadable add-on titled "Epilogue", it is shown that the Prince and Elika had survived and retreated to an underground palace. They battle Elika's father once again. As they escape the battle, they both attempt to leave the palace alive. As they attempt to escape, Elika shows her disdain for the Prince as he insists that by freeing her, they stand a chance against Ahriman. In a final battle against Elika's father, the Prince impales him on spikes. Elika leaves the Prince in search for her people and the Prince is left alone in the darkness. Gameplay Outside of battle, the Prince and Elika can perform acrobatic movements to clamber around the environment. The Prince can use his gauntlet to perform "Gripfall", an ability that allows him to safely slide down the side of vertical slopes. As more magical abilities are unlocked, the Prince and Elika can perform many more acrobatic and magical abilities. In battle, the Prince and Elika can use the Prince's sword, gauntlet and acrobatic movements and Elika's magic to destroy the corrupted army of Ahriman. The sword can be used for quick strikes, while the gauntlet activates throws. Acrobatic movements allow the Prince to maneuver himself around the enemy. Elika's magic can be used to damage the corrupted being as well, but she needs to be close and it takes longer for her to attack then the sword. The Prince cannot actually die as just before being killed by an enemy, Elika will save him or if he is about to fall to his death, Elika saves him at the last moment. Reception The game was well received by critics getting an average of 81%, 85% and 82% for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, respectively. IGN writer Hilary Goldstein praised the game for its simple, visually spectacular acrobatics and combat, but noted that one must "embrace the change the series" in order to "fall in love it". She also praised the character of Elika as a useful sidekick and a likeable character with a great relationship with the Prince. However, the game was also received poorly by some critics for being too repetitious. It was also criticized for its trial-and-error gameplay, often having the player to repeat segments in order to pass one section. The gameplay has been compared to Mirror's Edge and Assassin's Creed, while the intense boss battles have been compared to Shadow of the Colossus and the watercolor look to Ōkami. Category:Games released on the Xbox Category:Games released on the PlayStation 3 Category:Games released for Mac Category:Games released in 2008 Category:Games released in 2009 Category:Games that are rated T